Of Thestrals and Lightning Storms
by patronusmagic
Summary: Birthday fic for SophyWald. Luna finds Harry in the forbidden forest, together, they discover something neither of them could ever have imagined.


**Birthday fic for SophyWald. Happy Birthday!**

**Prompts used: "Some are born with greatness, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them" – William Shakespeare, Storm, thestral.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own **it,** never will. **

His fingers brushed against the thick brambles, eyes wide and hostile. It had been six months since his defeat of Voldemort and in all honesty – the stares, the crowds, the photographers – it was all getting to him. He just wanted to be left alone, to find a girl and settle down but that was impossible with the press in his face.

One person got him through it, her intelligence and gentle self confidence guided him through the blur of interviews, press conferences and people wanting to congratulate the saviour of the wizarding world like a lighthouse in a foggy ocean, guiding sailors to safety.

Luna Lovegood – he smiled when he thought of Luna. As mad as a box of frogs but with a fierce intelligence that left him breathless. There was something about Luna that puzzled him, she was an enigma, a puzzle to be solved. Whether it was her blunt honesty or her endearing belief in creatures that she had probably made up, he found himself falling irrevocably in love with her.

The snapping of a twig – high and loud in the deserted clearing, it echoed around the trees, grating Harry's nerves slightly. Slow, gentle footsteps approached him, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Slowly and carefully, he turned around – wand poised in front of him, hands shaking slightly. His breath caught when he spotted her, blue eyes shining, blonde hair glinting in the low sunlight that streamed through the thick crop of trees . Merlin – she was so beautiful.

"Hi Luna," he said awkwardly, he was unsure of what to say.

"Hello Harry, I hope you are well?" Luna said quietly, voice low and thoughtful.

"Where do I go from here Luna? What do I do? Everybody thinks that I'm so _great _but I don't want to be. I just want to be normal,"

"Be not afraid of greatness, some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them," Luna replied, eyes shining.

"Well, it was certainly thrust upon me," Harry said, sinking onto an old, rotten tree stump.

It creaked and groaned as he sat down such was the age of the stump. Most as soft as baby's down and as green as the lush blades of the Hogwarts ground, gathered upon his clothes. Luna saw this and smiled – though Harry didn't know why.

"That's not true," she shook her head. "You are all three."

Harry shot her an inquisitive stare. How on earth could he be all three? Luna saw this and elaborated.

"You were great from the moment you left your mothers womb. You held the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. You achieved greatness the moment you survived the killing curse. Greatness was thrust upon you all those years at Hogwarts when you completed those amazing feats and then, of course, when you learnt of what the prophecy entails, you were given an impossible task and yet you persevered."

Luna's eyes were imploring Harry to see sense, to realise that he was great, almost as great as Albus Dumbledore- perhaps even more so. Her hair blew in a gentle breeze and a halo of light had settled over her head. Harry was in pure bliss – he wanted to reach over and press his lips to hers, to feel her soft skin on his and to run his fingers through her dirty blonde hair. He wanted to feel her heart beat with his, to look into those eyes and confess his deepest, innermost feelings.

He swallowed and blinked. Was it just him or had she moved closer? He felt the blood pumping in his ears as his heart picked up speed, his mouth was dry and a lump had formed in his throat. A light rain had started to drizzle into the clearing, accompanied by the distant rumble of thunder.

"Luna," Harry choked, blinking the moisture from his eyes.

Luna smiled. "I know."

Luna closed her eyes in bliss as the rain picked up in intensity, driving down their backs in sheets. Their clothes stuck to their skin but no one moved, no one said a word. The thunder came closer, the clearing lit up as lightning struck across the sky.

"I love storms," Luna said dreamily, tipping her face to the heavens "There's something so magical about them."

"Me too," said Harry throatily. "Me too."

They wrere drawing closer to each other – like magnets and metal. They were almost nose to nose, Harry could count the freckles on Luna's nose see the flecks of green and gold in her aquamarine blue orbs. Before either of them knew what was happening, their lips had met. Fireworks exploded around Harry, his fingers tingled as the kiss became more passionate, less chaste. He ran his fingers through her soft hair, closing his eyes in complete bliss. They were the only two people in the world, just him and her, her and him.

Their shadows were intertwined, flitting about in the dancing light provided by the lightning storm. The rain was slowly soaking them but the didn't notice. They were lost in complete and utter bliss, in love, in hope.

A low whinnying noise had them breaking apart. Harry's face split into a soft smile as he saw what it was. A family of thestrals had shimmied into the clearing. Harry and Luna (Still entwined in a loving embrace) watched as the mare delicately nuzzled her foal with her nose, love shining in this big black eyes. The Sire turned black eyes towards Harry and Luna.

There seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them. An understanding on an unsolicited level. Nobody need to ask, they knew that they wouldn't disturb each other.

"Oh," Luna gazed in wonder at the gentle beasts, eyes wide and mouth quivering softly.

It was that moment- that Harry saw the true beauty of the thestrals. He saw past the bony body's or the reputation of being death omens. He just sat and watched the beautiful creatures as they wallowed in the fulfilling feeling of love and protection.

Harry turned to Luna, resting his forehead on hers and smiled. Unconsciously his hand found hers and held it tightly.

"I love you,"

Luna smiled, seeming to grow somehow as she looked into Harry's eyes and truthfully answered.

"And I you, so much,"

Together, they became one. Lips pressed together in a desperate kiss. In years to come, people would remark on the beautiful relationship that they had. For never, in the history of love had one couple been so perfect for each other.


End file.
